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BATFE Gun-Smuggling Promo Resurfaces

The lamestream media told you:

Nothing (NBC). Very little (ABC). Nothing lately (CBS).

FOX News presented a one-hour special that all but called the BATFE Fast and Furious gun-smuggling scheme the Watergate for Mr. Obama. Special segment host Sean Hannity directly associated Nixon's illegal activities with this drug-cartel gun-smuggling operation. Comments that, "We will never run any stories like that because it could hurt our beloved president," from the three networks, could not be confirmed.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

A full-color brochure produced by BATFE in March of 2009 at the start of the federal gun-smuggling operation has resurfaced, and seems to implicate BATFE in illegal operations. The brochure clearly outlines known criminal activity, which congressional testimony and other evidence has confirmed BATFE knew about and in fact ran for an extended period of time.

According to the information published by BATFE itself: "Firearm trafficking is the movement of firearms from the legal to the illegal marketplace. It is one of the most pressing problems in the firearms industry today... Firearms originating in the United states have been used to murder U.S. citizens and foreign officials... In response to the violence on the U.S.-Mexican border, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive (BATFE) is committed to denying the tools of the trade to drug trafficking organizations..."

The brochure explicitly acknowledges that what BATFE was doing was strictly illegal, against established policy, and that BATFE was engaging in these specifically known and outlawed acts. BATFE facilitated "the movement of firearms from the legal to the illegal marketplace." BATFE knowingly did this, aware that, "Firearms originating in the United states have been used to murder U.S. citizens and foreign officials." BATFE countermanded their stated policy by supplying, instead of denying, "the tools of the trade to drug trafficking organizations."

In congressional testimony, BATFE agents denied knowing what they were doing, or taking responsibility for their actions, and in fact promoted some of their staff who were directly involved in supplying guns to the cartels, which they knew would be used to commit murders.

Both houses of Congress are investigating the murderous behaviors, and both Rep. Isaa and Sen. Grassley have now demanded information from the FBI, who appears complicit in the operation. Several of the straw purchasers BATFE used could not possibly pass a NICS background check, run by the FBI and required for every purchase made.

In other news, 10 of 15 Arizona Sheriffs have declared their intent to investigate BATFE criminal activity in the federal government gun-smuggling operation:

"A majority of Arizona’s county sheriffs on Friday (10/8/11) called upon President Barack Obama to appoint an independent counsel to investigate the government’s botched gun-smuggling case known as Operation Fast and Furious.

"At a Phoenix news conference, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said the sting operation, which allowed an estimated 2,000 firearms to reach narcotics cartels in Mexico, was a betrayal that should lead to the removal of Attorney General Eric Holder and possible criminal charges against those responsible.

" 'I believe that this is a much larger scandal than what took place in Watergate,' said Babeu, who is president of the Arizona Sheriff's Association." This according to The Arizona Republic.

Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar said, "When you facilitate that and a murder or a felony occurs, you're called an accessory.". "That means that there's criminal activity." In a letter to Congress AG Holder "said he felt compelled to comment because of 'irresponsible and inflammatory' statements about the case by a House member who said those involved with Fast and Furious should be regarded as 'accessories to murder,'" according to The Arizona Republic state newspaper. The brochure issued by BATFE confirms that the agency was aware its actions were strictly illegal, but does not directly implicate Holder or Obama. Holder's testimony to Congress was replete with contradictions and statements that did not stand up to scrutiny, hence the ongoing investigation.

In other news, it was learned last week that a county attorney within Arizona may be planning a separate action with regard to the illegal smuggling operation, but details will not be released until the plans are settled. After prodding, it was not clear if the state taxing authority would look into tax violations for one of the straw buyers, who spent six-figure money on guns he could not legally buy, with no visible means of support, and hence no paid taxes.

Evidence is almost insurmountable that Eric Holder and Mr. Obama knew in advance about Fast and Furious, let the program run, and used the bogus stats to bolster a case against private gun ownership and for government registration of firearms. They had been promoting the supposed iron-river into Mexico both here and abroad, until it became evident that the numbers they used were false.

In still other news, a document is apparently circulating in the halls of government seeking to eliminate the BATFE. Rumors of such a plan have been circulating for years, and internal scutllebut suggests BATFE is a laughing stock among the rough riders of federal law enforcement.

"Multiple sources, including sources from ATF, DOJ and Congressional offices have said there is a white paper circulating within the Department of Justice, outlining the essential elimination of ATF. According to sources, the paper outlines the firing of at least 450 ATF agents in an effort to conduct damage control as Operation Fast and Furious gets uglier and as election day 2012 gets closer. ATF agents wouldn’t be reassigned to other positions, just simply let go. Current duties of ATF, including the enforcement of explosives and gun laws, would be transferred to other agencies, possibly the FBI and the DEA. According to a congressional source, there have been rumblings about the elimination of ATF for quite sometime, but the move would require major political capital to actually happen.

"After a town hall meeting about Operation Fast and Furious in Tucson, Ariz., ATF Whistleblower Vince Cefalu, who has been key in exposing details about Operation Fast and Furious, confirmed the elimination of ATF has been circulating as a serious idea for sometime now and that a white paper outlining the plan does exist."

"ATF" is an abbreviation of BATFE, which the bureau prefers, since five-letter acronyms are seen as less manly. Since the group now claims jurisdiction over really awesome wild fires, it's acronym perhaps should be BATFERAWF. If you add "And Gun Smuggling" you get BATFERAWFAGS.

According to Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, jpfo.org, which bills itself as America's Most Aggressive Defender of Gun Ownership, having a Keystone Kops organization life BATFE in charge of firearms is far superior to having a massively powerful and invasive group like the FBI take charge of the civil right to arms. "Leave BATFE in place, but replace their badges and guns with business cards and notepads, so it's clear they're just bureaucrats," one member was heard to say.

About the Author

Freelance writer Alan Korwin is a founder and past president of the Arizona Book Publishing Association. With his wife Cheryl he operates Bloomfield Press, the largest producer and distributor of gun-law books in the country. Here writing as "The Uninvited Ombudsman," Alan covers the day's stories as they ought to read. Read more.